I finally broke the cycle of buying lunch every workday

I work downtown in a city where a sandwich costs $12 minimum. I was spending around $55 a week on lunch alone. Three months ago I started meal prepping on Sundays making two big batches of something like chili or stir fry. Each batch costs me maybe $8 total for the week. I have saved roughly $600 so far just by bringing my own food. Has anyone else noticed how much those daily lunch trips actually add up?

2 comments

2 Comments

palmer.ryan12d ago

Pretty sure I've spent at least that much in a week just on snacks and coffee runs, not counting actual lunch. Meal prep sounds like a solid plan on paper, but who's got the time to cook two big batches every Sunday? Would rather just grab a $12 sandwich and call it a win.

the_nathan11d ago

Man I gotta push back hard on that one. Look I get it, Sunday cooking feels like a chore, but grabbing a $12 sandwich five days a week is $60 right there plus another $20-30 on snacks and coffee, that's like $400 a month easy. And you're telling me meal prep is the time sink? I can throw some chicken thighs in the oven, boil a bag of rice, and chop some broccoli in literally 45 minutes flat, not even a full hour. That covers lunch for the whole week, not just saves money but I'm actually eating real food instead of overpriced bread and lettuce. Plus you skip the 15 minute line at the sandwich shop every day, so you're actually saving time during the week too. I dunno man, the math just doesn't work for the grab-and-go routine once you actually add it all up.